Education · Alternative Provision
Alternative Provision at Charnwood Forest Alpacas
Our farm provides a practical, outdoor environment where young people can develop confidence, skills and positive routines through working with animals and being part of farm life.
Ages
11 to 18, younger learners considered after assessment
Attendance
From one day a week to a full timetable
Groups
1:1 or small groups with dedicated support
Accreditation
ASDAN outcomes and certificates of achievement
More than a classroom
Students here experience a working farm environment and take part in meaningful practical activities involving animals, the land and day-to-day farm routines.
Calm and Confident
Our CALMs ethos — Cognitive Animal Learning Methods — underpins every stage, with functional and key skills embedded throughout.
Accredited learning
ASDAN accreditation is attached to all of our learning outcomes.
The five animal freedoms
Freedom from hunger and thirst, discomfort, injury or disease, to express normal behaviour, and from fear and distress — they frame everything learners do here.
What students can get involved in
Every placement is different, but these are the threads most days are woven from.
Animal Care
Feeding, grooming, routine care and learning how to safely work around different animals.
Farm Life
Getting involved with practical jobs around the farm and understanding how a working farm operates.
Equine
Opportunities to develop confidence and practical skills around horses and ponies.
Alpacas
Working alongside our alpaca herd and learning about their care, behaviour and daily routines.
Practical Skills
Developing responsibility, communication, teamwork, confidence and independence through real tasks.
Outdoor Learning
Time outdoors, physical activity and learning in a very different environment from a traditional classroom.
Who is it for?
We work with schools, academies, alternative provision organisations, local authorities and families across Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
Learners with EHCPs or identified SEN
Social, emotional and mental health needs
Learners at risk of exclusion or already out of school
Learning difficulties and additional needs
Anxious learners who struggle with a classroom setting
Young people needing routine, purpose and responsibility
What students can develop
Through meaningful, practical experiences on the farm, learners can build:
Confidence
Small, achievable tasks with a visible result. Animals respond to the learner, not to a grade.
Communication
Working alongside staff and animals builds language, listening and self-expression.
Responsibility
Animals depend on the learner turning up and doing the job properly, week after week.
Emotional regulation
A calm, predictable environment with space to step away and reset when needed.
Accredited outcomes
ASDAN accreditation and certificates give learners something concrete to take away.
Work and life skills
Timekeeping, teamwork and practical land-based skills that carry beyond the farm.
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A day on the farm
A flavour of what a placement day can involve — every day is shaped around the young person, so no two follow exactly the same routine.
- 1
Arrive at the farm
- 2
Meet the team
- 3
Morning animal and farm tasks
- 4
Break
- 5
Practical activities
- 6
Animal care, equine and alpaca time
- 7
End-of-day jobs and reflection
Why a farm environment?
Small, achievable tasks with a visible result build confidence session by session.
A calm, predictable environment gives learners space to step away and reset when needed.
And because the animals depend on them, learners turn up and do the job properly — week after week.
What schools and families say
Feedback from the people who refer to us, and the families we work alongside.
The change in our student has been remarkable. He arrives at the farm calm and settled, and the routine of caring for the animals has given him a confidence we simply couldn't reach in the classroom.
SENCO, Leicestershire secondary school
The team really understand young people who struggle in a school setting. The days are structured but never pressured, and our daughter comes home tired, happy and full of stories about the animals.
Parent of a placement learner
Communication with us as a referring school has been excellent — clear goals, honest feedback and proper progress records. The ASDAN outcomes give the placement real value for our students.
Alternative provision lead, local authority
Could the farm be the right environment for your student?
Schools, parents and professionals are all welcome to get in touch. Tell us about your learner or cohort and we will suggest the right stage, dates and level of support.